After perusing large numbers of library books, I knew a very popular project would be to make a Roman shield. My boys love to pretend to be soldiers and fight the scary hordes of barbarians, or dryads. For some reason dryads are frequent bad guys. So, our history lesson today was to make Roman shields for pretend play and claim this was part of our Ancient Rome Unit and stick it into our Ancient History lessons.
Supplies for a Roman shield toy (affiliate links):
Foam Board, Acrylic Paint, Duct Tape (I now buy these last 3 items in bulk supplies because my kids have discovered the joy of using them), paint brushes (I like this pack for the variety of brushes)
Super easy steps for Roman shield toy
First, sketch out your shield design. I was a lot more stubborn about our design for the standard than I was for the shields. I just didn’t want to fight them on the shield, so I ended up with a unicorn, a vaguely Roman thing with the wrong colors, and something I’m not remembering without looking at it. But a unicorn- the historian inside of me shriveled up a little as she painted it. Shriveled.
Slowly paint your shield, following your design. Here are a couple of pointers for painting this project:
- Paint the big, huge areas first.
- Then, go back and paint the details.
- Finally, go back and fill in any bits that are messed up.
Create the handle for your Roman shield:
- Tear off two strips about 12 inches long.
- Fold those strips in half.
- Place those strips on top of 2 strips about 18-24 inches long.
- Tape the two strips onto the back of your shield, leaving a loop large enough for the child’s arm to fit through.
- Reinforce the handles with a patchwork pattern of duct tape.
You now have a very fun Roman shield to play with.
Tomorrow, we’ll make the sword so you have a properly equipped soldier to not just defend, but attack his enemy.
For the rest of our Roman posts head over to Hands on Roman History.
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